The GHS
by rl4sb4eva
Summary: Just a story based on a dream that struck me as good.
1. A girl betrayed

Hi, this is my first fic. Please R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own it or anything, Cahterine is mine though and the idea of the GHS. Please don't sue me Joanne. I'm just a poor student.

HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!

The GHS.

'Sirius, you can't leave her now. She needs us, we're all she's got.' Remus Lupin shouted down the corridor of Hogwarts, he stood outside the doors of the hospital wing, his robes, shabby as usual, covered in dried blood. He stared at the retreating back of his best friend, Sirius Black, as he strode down the corridor away from him. 'Sirius...' Sirius turned.

'No, Remus, I can't deal with this at the moment. I'm going to go and see Harry, he needs me. She has you.'

'Harry needs you,' Remus called in disbelief, 'Harry has a broken wrist, that is it, a fucking broken wrist. Catherine, your daughter, has been in a fucking asylum for a year, and you need to go to Harry. Are you just going to leave her? Am I supposed to tell her that her father doesn't care?'

'Remus, I can't deal with this. Harry wants me. She doesn't.'

'Sirius, she doesn't know what she wants. All she knows at the moment is that we left her there for a year. A FUCKING YEAR. We left her there so that you wouldn't have to go back to Azkaban. Although, I'm betting you would have handed your self in if Harry asked you to. Fudge is gone. Dumbledore took the Minister for Magic job, you got a pardon. You no longer have to hide. Are you going to keep hiding to stay away from her?'

'If that's what it takes. I can't just deal with this. She was kept out of our world for precisely this reason. As soon as the Ministry declared the GHS an enemy, we decided to keep her safe. We decided to keep her out of this world, we couldn't have her presenting at Hogwarts the way she was, she was privately tutored and kept away from me and everyone.' Sirius began to walk back towards Remus, shouting. His voice getting higher and higher. 'I love her Remus, and that is precisely why I am staying away from her. We don't know what they told her in there. It could have been anything. And, I can't just drop a daughter on Harry after this time!'

'Harry will understand...' Neither of them had noticed Harry walking up the stairs behind Sirius. He called.

'What will I understand? Sirius, what's going on?' He walked slowly down the corridor, ' why are you arguing?'

'Harry, it's nothing for you to worry about. Just go back to the main hall and I'll be down in a minute. Ok.' Sirius's voice was frought with desperation.

'Sirius, you have to tell him. Hermione's going to have to be found at some point and then it will all come out.' The door to the infirmary creaked as it opened slowly. Remus spun round on his heels and stopped, gazing at the slim female form that had just stepped out. She wore loose fitting white and purple pyjamas and had a bandage covering her right arm.

'Catherine, you should be resting. I'll take you back in.' Lupin's voice was calm as he began to walk towards the figure.

'Sirius, you never came to see me. Where you just coming? I, uh, heard raised voices and only had time to magic up these,' she indicated the pyjamas, 'I hope they are ok?' She stumbled, clearly weak, and Remus ran to her and caught her. Twirling his wand from his pocket, he magicked up a chair and sat her on it slowly. 'Who's the young man?' She pointed at Harry. Her breath was ragged and she fought to sit up straight, eventually resting her elbows on her knees and propping her self up.

'Catherine, I meant to come and see you. I was going to come and see you, but I had to deal with some stuff first. You should really go back to bed, you don't look well.' Black stumbled over his words and began to move almost as if to cover Harry from view.

'Really, don't look well,' she looked at Remus, 'can't think why that would be?' Laughing nervously, she once again indicated Harry. 'Well, arn't you going to introduce me?'

'Uh, Catherine, this is... this is Harry Potter. You remember, the night with you-know-who? He helped you right?' Sirius moved even more as if to completely block Harry from both Remus and Catherine.

'Yeah, I remember. Hi, I don't think we talked properly before. My name is Catherine Frost, I helped a little.' Sarcasm began to creep into her voice, and she sat up almost as if hearing Harry's name had given her extra strength.

'Yeah, I remember too, just wondering, why are you here? And not at St. Mungo's, I mean you're not a student, or a teacher.' Harry was looking at Sirius inquisitively as he finished talking.

Catherine stood, she wobbled slightly and Remus steadied her, 'Dumbledore had me brought here, brilliant man Dumbledore. I'm glad he got the Minister for magic position, he's much better than that Fudge character. I hear they gave you the Order of Merlin, First class for your defeat of the dark lord. I commend you. Although I have to say, it's sickening.' She spat the last phrase as venom began to creep into her voice.

'Catherine, lets leave this. You should fully recover, before...'

'Be quiet Remus. This has to be said, he has to know. Talking of 'knowing'. Does he know my familial position with regard to this little gathered group? Huh, Sirius?' She cocked her head to the side and her stance straightened.

'No, Catherine. He doesn't know. And if I have my way he won't know, because he doesn't need to know...' Sirius tried to hold himself rigid but Catherine's glance wore him down.

'In the same way as I didn't need to know, that you were going to leave me alone and hide away from me. Harry, your godfather will probably try and tell you that I am a friend. Bollocks. I am his illegitamate daughter, the same age as you and I killed Lord Voldemort. Not you. Me.'

'Listen, Catherine, are you insane or something? Sirius would have told me, wouldn't you? Sirius?' Harry looked at Sirius, who seemed to shrink away.

'Harry, I was going to tell you. Things got in the way.'

'Sirius, is she a death eater or something? You're all scared of her and there's really no point. I mean what does she mean, she killed Voldemort?'

'That much power doesn't just dissapate. It has to be taken away. And only one lifeform can do that. A GHS, Grand High Sorceress. Or for those not in the know, me. So, sorry to burst your bubble, but I weakened him and I killed him. You just got the benefits. So, whilst you were getting the nice front page spread in the Daily prophet and your nice little presentation at the ministry. I was drugged, gloved and thrown in a muggle asylum to rot. S'not really fair, when you think about it. You must agree? And do you want to know what? Of course you do. Daddy dearest here, was only too happy to leave me there. And d'you wanna know why? All because he was worried for his golden boy.' Her hand had balled into a fist. Which she pulled open to reveal a glowing red ball of fire. She began to play with it, tossing it from one hand to the other and back.

'Whoa...' The assembled crowd turned to the stairs and saw Ron Weasley stood there watching the fireball roll back and forth. 'Harry, what's going on?'

'Ron, go tell Hermione to come up and keep everyone away from this corridor.' Lupin called from his place behind Catherine.

'Huh...'

'Ron, go.' He turned and ran away down the stairs.

'Remus, honey, are you trying to rat me out?' Catherine turned, the fire still rolling from one hand to the other never breaking its rhythm.

'Catherine, you need help. We are so sorry for what we did. Hermione can help you. She's your apprentice. Just wait and calm down. And how about putting the fire out?' Remus moved slowly so he stood between Catherine and, Harry and Sirius. She followed him.

Meanwhile, Ron had found Hermione, 'Hermione, Hermione.'

'What is it Ron? I thought you went to find Harry?' She looked boredly up at him from the chair in the main hall.

'Professor Lupin told me to get you. There's a mad strange, quite gourgeous, woman holding them all up there and she's playing with fireballs. It didn't look good.' Hermione stood, the book on her lap falling to the floor.

'Catherine, but it can't be.' She ran off, Ron following her with the intentions of blocking off the corridor and trying to work out a way of asking this mad woman on a date. Hermione took the corners with surprising deftness and sprinted up the stairs.

She appeared at the top of the stairs in time to see Remus take the fireball out of Catherine's hands. And watch it extinguish as it hit the floor.

'Catherine, come on lets get you back to bed.' Hermione didn't know how she knew, but she kew everything that had happened to Catherine during her year long stint in the asylum. In mesmerising detail. She was sickened to think that it was all carried out so her friend could comfortably live with the adoration of millions of witches and wizards the world over. Carried out by a man she had at first championed as just a bit slow and not really hiding things from the public. She was now personally glad that he had been booted out of office and Dumbledore had taken the position.

'You know. You know what happened.' It wasn't a question it was a statement. Catherine had told her it all in a split second when their eyes had first met. The strain was too much and Catherine fell to the floor breaking down as wave after wave of memories flooded over her. She wondered how she could ever tell Remus what had happened. He knew some of it. Hermione ran over and sat next to her. Spying the bandage she pulled it of. It easily fell away to reveal a tight black glove with metal prongs attatched to the top that were imbedded into the skin. A glove of Atracne, designed to keep the GHS under control. They could do basic magic, but the fireball had been more of a scare tactic, it was about as hot as tepid water. Hermione ran her finger down the side of the glove and the metal spines retracted and the glove slid away.

Remus leant over and him and Hermione helped Catherine to her feet and back into the waiting bed in the hospital wing. Laying her head on the pillow as she fell asleep.


	2. The need to be wanted

'Well, what do we do now?' Remus slid the drapes closed around the bed and turned to Hermione, Harry and Sirius. 'I mean, I don't know how to talk to her. What to avoid or anything. She never said what happened there'  
'Remus, leave it. She'll most probably never tell you'  
'Sirius, don't.' Hermione said softly and turned to Remus. 'She wants to tell you, but it's hard, it's so hard. She hasn't even made sense of it yet herself. It was all conducted behind closed doors, I'd personally be surprised if even Fudge knew the extent of it. Now, Harry, it would most probably be best if you didn't contemplate visiting her. She's still trying to contemplate being left there and I don't think finding out her father was going to leave her again is really going to make her very welcoming to you. Shall we be honest about this?' Hermione left the room. Letting the door close behind her, before running to the Gryffindor portrait hole, shouting out the password to a surprised looking Fat Lady (Pork chop) and running across the common room full of Gryffindor's in end-of-term cheeriness.  
She bolted up the stairs to the dormitory and ran in. Luckily the room was empty as Hermione sank to her bed and her eyes filled up with tears. She sat there as the horror of what she knew filled her up and she tried to cry it out, but it didn't help, unless Catherine let it out, Hermione would not let herself be happy. She was inextricably tied to Catherine. She didn't hear the door open and flinched and looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  
'Professor Dumbledore, how did you get into the girls dormitory?' She tried to wipe her eyes but knew it was too late.  
'A secret passage, that's not to be found on any marauder's maps. All headmaster's know about it. You've seen Catherine.' Again it was a statement, not a question. He knew, of course he knew, he knew everything that went on in the school.  
'Yes, she is going to need a lot of help. I know everything that happened, and even though she told me, it still feels like a secret I shouldn't know. How could someone do that?' Her eyes filled up with tears.  
'She told you because she trusts you. You can't tell anyone unless she wants you to. It's just a clause in the gigantic contract you had already signed.'

Harry had left the hospital, leaving Remus and Sirius in stony silence. Sirius moved past Lupin towards the curtains that surrounded his young daughter, pulling one gently aside and looking in.  
'She looks so small.' He commented quietly. A small waver creeping into his voice.  
'I know.' Remus said just as softly. Walking up to stand behind Sirius, who turned and looked straight into his eyes.  
'I don't understand, when she was younger, she seemed to need me, but now I don't know what to do. Do I try to hold her, although after what just happened she'd probably set fire to me'  
Remus walked away from the curtains and sat on a nearby bed, the creak of the springs echoing in the empty ward. He gestured for Sirius to sit next to him, and took a deep breath in. 'Do you remember the incident with the Malfoys'  
'Yeah, of course I do'  
'We, uh... I never told you what happened. They put me in with her on the night of the full moon.' He gabbled quickly, trying to find the best words in his head to tell his friend what had happened next.  
'But you didn't tear her apart? How does that work'  
'I'll get to that in a minute, she told me to undress. We didn't know how long we were going to be there, she figured it might be best if I wasn't naked for it. Then she, um, she asked me to kiss her. And I did.' He looked at Sirius.  
'You kissed my daughter, she was 17. And you were what, 36? And you kissed her'  
'Sirius, it wasn't like that. I kept seeing your face swimming in front of my eyes. And I pulled away, I told her you'd kill me if you ever found out'  
'You were bloody right.' Sirius stood as if to take a swing.  
'And she said 'He doesn't care.' All of this happened because she thinks you want Harry more than her. That's why she didn't put up a fight. She thought you'd be happier if she wasn't there. So you and Harry could be alone.' The words hit Sirius like a punch to the gut. His arm dropped to his side from its raised position.  
'How can she think that?' He said gently, slowly sinking back beside Remus.  
'Because, you didn't bother to try and see her when you escaped, you went straight to Harry. She was left at a muggle boarding school with the knowledge that her father had escaped'  
'What does it matter. I went to Harry to save him. Anyway everyone thought I'd done it. Even you. Why would she have wanted me then'  
'Because she never believed you had done anything. Unlike most people she remembers what happened when she was young, I mean really young. She was 2 when you went to Azkaban, she remembers the last weekend you spent together. Do you remember, it was Lily's birthday? We went round to her and James'. Everyone was there except for Peter. She remembers the way you and James were. She knew you'd never do anything to hurt him, or Lily, or Harry. And then you just vanished. How do you explain to a two year old that her father is in prison'  
'So what did Dumbledore do?' Sirius' shoulders were hunched and his voice was becoming smaller and weaker.  
'Nothing. I saw her once a month or so, to help her understand what was happening, to teach her how to control her powers. Then her mother went loopy'  
'Abigail went mad. What did she do'  
'Turned fundamentalist Christian. Thought Catherine was possessed by the devil. Tried to 'save her soul', ended up nearly killing her. Catherine contacted me and we got her out of there. Before putting her in a boarding school. She stayed with me during holidays'  
'Is that why she was there, the night you-know-who returned? When I turned up'  
'Yes, that's why she was there. She broke up early as it was her last year there. Then you turned up, raving about Harry. How he'd won the Triwizard and such. It only compounded her feeling that you didn't want her. You had your substitute for James and that was all you wanted. Why would you need a messed up 16 year old, with more problems than you can imagine? So she withdrew and this is the result. She wakes up and finds you planning to leave her again for Harry. And now we have the stalemate that we find ourselves in.' Remus finished and turned to finally look at his friend again. Shocked to see a tear falling down his face. 'Sirius, I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything'  
'No, I needed to know. It's all my fault. Everything that happened, it's all down to me'  
'No, no, it's not. Its the Ministry's fault and mine for leaving her at the end.' Remus sat, not knowing what to do. Feeling unable to comfort his friend.  
'You shouldn't have had to get her, it should have been me, I am her Father after all.' He stood and began to walk towards the door, 'I'm going to go to my rooms for a little while. I'll be back later.' he left before Remus could answer.  
He sighed and walked over to the curtain, stepping through, he pulled up a chair and settled down for a long night. 


	3. Truths spoken aloud

Remus sat in the curtained off area of the hospital wing watching Catherine as she slept, her hair spread wildly over the pillow.  
'So, Kitty, what are we going to do? I've just got you back, and the circumstances suggest that I won't be loosing you again. In fact if I have my way I'm never letting you out of my site again.' He spoke to the room, as he struggled to take in what he saw. She looked so small, so vulnerable, so different to when he had last seen her. She had been so full of life, so strong, after the display in the hall, he seriously wondered about her mental state. 'Sirius, you bloody idiot.' He said softly.  
She moved slightly, a small murmur escaping her lips. Followed by a fast string of unintelligible words, suddenly she began to kick and punch at the air, her arms and legs moving as if against invisible assailants. 'No... no... please, not again, not again... please...' She called out, as he rushed to her side, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her gently until she woke up. 'Remus...', her voice was so quiet and he watched as her deep grey eyes, so like her fathers, filled with tears.  
He pulled her as close as he possibly could. His arms holding her, one hand stroked her hair, as he spoke softly trying to calm her down. Huge sobs wracking her small frame, merely bone and skin beneath his arms. 'It's ok, honey, it's ok. You're safe and no-one will ever hurt you again. I promise.' The sobs began to subside, but he still held her, almost afraid to let her go. She pulled away slightly and looked up into his eyes. 'I have to admit, I feel much better. And I don't think my backs bleeding anymore. I'm sorry'  
'What for? It was my fault for leaving you alone after the fight, I should have guessed what would have happened.' Remus' gut twisted as he fought the urge to get on his knees and beg her for forgiveness.  
'I meant, I'm sorry because your robes are all wet. And no-one could have guessed what happened. Don't beat yourself up over it.' She pulled completely out of his arms and turned so she could get out of bed. 'Where do you think you're going, Miss Black?' The school nurse Madam Pomfrey had slid inside the curtains and stood with her hands on her hips looking sternly at Catherine.  
'One; my name is Catherine. Two; I know it's currently breakfast time downstairs and I am really hungry. Really.' She had stood and was just about to walk from the bedside, when she glanced down. 'I cannot, however eat in pyjamas. Even if they do have, well what are they?' She pulled the sleeve of her pyjamas up to her eye and stared at it. 'Kittens on them, very nice as they are, it just doesn't work for me.' She pointed at herself, a simple outfit of jeans and a simple strappy tee appeared in place of the feline pyjamas. 'Much better'  
'Catherine, I am afraid you're not leaving this hospital wing. I do not feel you are well enough. Don't you agree Professor?' Madam Pomfrey turned to Remus, with a glare that would have probably felled a tree.  
'Unfortunately, I don't think you have any control over me. I'm not technically a student and I don't think Professor Lupin here is going to back you up. Anyway, I'm all healed and well. As soon as that glove came off, everything went, barring the rather substantial cut on my back which, however, has stopped bleeding and is currently doing just fine. I just want to go downstairs and have a nice breakfast. Remus will you show me the way?' She smiled at him.  
'I'll take good care of her Poppy. I promise.' Remus called as they left the hospital wing.  
Halfway down the corridor Catherine turned to him and said, 'Professor'  
'I needed some money. Dumbledore offered me the Defence Against the Dark Arts job and I took it. Sirius takes the lessons when I'm indisposed, so to speak'  
'What about my money? Why didn't you use that'  
'Because the ministry were watching the vault. And anyway I told you I'd never use it. It's your money.' He looked into her eyes.  
'Ah, well technically some of it should go to Hermione'  
They entered the Great Hall, and were greeted by an excited shout of 'Catherine!' As Hermione came bounding over to her. 'Shouldn't you still be in the hospital wing'  
'Well Poppy wanted to keep me there, but I needed bacon and eggs and sausages and food in general really'  
'Well, as it's the last day of the year, I don't think the headmaster will mind you coming and sitting with me, will he? You could come too, Professor Lupin, if you wished?' Hermione looked up at the professor.  
'I think Poppy would have my skin if I left her, so, ladies choice.' He turned to Catherine.  
'Yeah, I think I will sit with you. Be a Gryffindor for one day in my life. Lead on.' She giggled. Her eyes lighting up briefly, and Remus had a quick glimpse of the girl he had fallen in love with, the girl whom he hoped had not been destroyed in the past year.  
Hermione lead them across the hall and down the long Gryffindor table to a space next to a rather large bowl of pork sausages. They sat down and Catherine began to quickly pile food onto her plate that had appeared when she waved her hand.  
She looked up and across the table and saw the two young gentlemen sat there staring at her. 'Ah, Mr. Potter. Harry, I'm very sorry about last night. I hope you'll forgive me'  
The dark haired boy looked at her, 'Are you really Sirius' daughter'  
'Yeah, Catherine Alice Abigail Black - Jones. Bit of a mouthful, I dropped the Jones long ago. I'm not a pureblood though, the result of a very short relationship between Sirius and my mother. I was a way of rebelling against his parents, my mother is a 'muggle'? I believe that's what you call them. She's not a witch anyway,' she paused to fold an entire slice of bacon into her mouth and waited until she had swallowed it before continuing, 'she did however convert to Christianity for a while and seemed to think for some reason that I was possessed by the devil. Not exactly the most comfortable of conditions ensued. Remus found out and we took some of the GHS allowance and we put me in a boarding school. And I then had a very nice magic tutor.' She glanced round at Remus, a big smile lighting up her face. Her eyes sparkling.  
'Right, just wondered. Why did you never say Professor Lupin?' Harry stared almost accusingly at Remus, as if daring him to answer.  
Remus cleared his throat. 'It wasn't my place. It was for Sirius to tell you, not me'  
'When did he become your tutor?' Harry turned to Catherine.  
'When I was 12. I'm a year older than you, so you would've just been about to start Hogwarts. He tutored me for 2 years then came to work here. I saw him occasionally at weekends'  
'2 years before you came to Hogwarts,' Harry turned back to Lupin, 'you still thought Sirius had betrayed my parents. Yet you tutored his daughter? Then in the summer before 5th year, neither of you thought to tell me? It never once crossed your minds to tell one of us about this supposed almighty being who was going to have to come and save my ass?' He spoke quietly but his words were full of anger.  
'Harry...' Remus went to start but Catherine cut him off.  
'Harry, what did it matter if you knew about me or not. This whole world doesn't revolve around you. Yeah, and I'm pissed off at Sirius for not telling you, but the time to tell you probably never came up. And as for 'almighty being', what the fuck? I don't want to be this,' she gestured at herself, 'I never asked to have to save your ass. It just happened, I was born like this, like Tonks being a metamorphmagus. It's nothing'  
Harry looked up at the mention of Tonk's name and shouted, 'Tonks knew, everyone fucking knew, except for me. Tell me, Remus, was there anyone who didn't know'  
'There was Ron, Hermione, the Weasley children, plenty of people didn't know. Well even some of the adults didn't know the full truth. They knew about the GHS, but not who she was. Look, Harry, you didn't need to know. Dumbledore decided it was better. For yours and Catherine's safety. It was just until the war was over and the Ministry had calmed down.' Remus was struggling to retain his stoic facade. Speaking slower and slower as he tried to choose his words carefully.  
'Yes, because keeping me in the dark would have kept me so safe. What did it matter if the ministry was uncalm?' Harry spat back. Remus opened his mouth as if to speak but Catherine cut him off. 'It just mattered. And keeping you in the dark didn't harm you'  
'Why did it matter'  
'Because if you had shot your mouth off to anyone, Voldemort would still be here.' She shouted across the table. Everyone in the hall turned to look at her as she stood and pressed her hands on the table.  
'No he wouldn't, we would still have stopped him. I would have stopped him. Why do you matter so much?' Harry had stood as well, staring at her incredulously.  
'Because all that power had to go somewhere. And it didn't go into a fucking nearby badger.' She spoke quietly but everyone heard her words perfectly, the silence in the hall so total that it reverberated around the enchanted ceiling.  
'What? What power'  
'Voldemort's power, that's why the last year of my life has been spent in a fucking muggle asylum. The Ministry wanted to know what happened. So they grabbed me and they fucking tortured me for that information. While you got the front page of the newspaper, a First Class Order of Merlin, all the attention, and' she added softly, 'my Father.' She stepped over the bench and ran from the hall.  
Harry stood staring at the space where she had just been, shock apparent on his face, 'is that true?' He breathed out to no-one in particular.  
Remus stood, stepping over the bench, throwing the napkin he held onto the table. 'Yes.' He said simply before rushing out to find her. 


End file.
